i 



m§m 



mm^i 



1^ 



W'' 







^^^^^f^ »^-d^^^A.c^, 



Robert E. Lee 



Centennial Celebration of His Birth Held Under the 

Auspices of the University of South Carolina 

on the Nineteenth Day of January, 1907 




/ 





PRESENT tl) 



MRS, JOVNtS 
LIKENESS OF 



BV MRS. LEE. 
THE GENERAL. 



ROBERT E. LEE 



Centennial Celebration 



OF 



His Birth 

Held Under the Auspices 



OF THE 



University of South CaroHna 



ON 



the Nineteenth Day of January 
1907 



Columbia S. C. 

The State Company, PrJDters 

1907 






Gift 



''■My'07 



(Extracts from the Minutes of the Faculty, Oct. 19, 1906.) 
"Moved, That the centenary of Lee's birth be celebrated by the 
University, and that Prof. Joynes be requested to deliver before 
the Faculty, students and citizens of Columbia an address on the 
life and character of General Lee. Carried." 



(From Minutes, Oct. 30, 1906.) 

"The Committee appointed to recommend a programme for the 
celebration of the Centennial of the birth of Gen. R. E. Lee by 
the Faculty and student body of the University made the follow- 
ing report * * * 

"That Prof. E. S. Joynes has consented to deliver an address on 
General Lee as a civilian, with special reference to his service as 
an educator. 

"That Maj. Henry E. Young, Judge Advocate General, one of 
the survivors of General Lee's staff, be requested to deliver an 
address on the military career of General Lee." 



(From Journal of the House of Representatives, Jan. 9, 1907.) 

On motion of Eepresentative Porter A. McMaster : 
Be it Resolved, That the use of the Hall of the House of Rep- 
resentatives be extended to the Faculty of the University of South 
Carolina on the evening of January 19th inst., for public services 
commemorative of the centenary of the birth of Gen. Robert E. 
Lee. 



PROGRAMME 



Music by University Glee Club 

Prayer, by the Rev. W. P. Witsell 

Music 

Address, "Lee, the Soldier," 

by Major Henry Edward Young, of General Lee's Staff 

Music 

Address, "Lee, the College President," 

by Dr. Edward S. Joynes, formerly of General Lee's Faculty 

Music 

Presentation of medal offered by Wade Hampton Chapter, 
U. D. C, to Mr. Eugene Blake for best essay on: "Was 
Secession a Constitutional Right prior to 1861?" by Professor 
Yates Snow den 

Music 




PRESENTED CHRISTMAS. 1S67. 

WALKER W, I OY N ES ; * 

YEARS OLD. 



BY MRS. LEE 
HEN FIVE 



MAJOR YOUNG'S ADDRESS 



Mr. President, and professors of the University of South Caro- 
lina : Let me in the first place thank you, and thank you very 
sincerely for the honor you have conferred on me in giving me 
the opportunity of doing myself honor by showing my apprecia- 
tion of and admiration for the great soldier and man — "the 
greatest of all modern leaders," and "the most perfect man" — 
under whom I had the honor of serving personally during the 
late war. It is needless to say how greatly I value and cherish 
the memory of my almost daily association with him during the 
later years of the war. 

There are two men with whom in life I have associated inti- 
mately and who, though very different in some respects, always 
impressed me as great men — the greatest I have been privileged 
to associate with. And yet how different their fates. The one 
sinking slowly from the ken of men and now within a generation 
nearly forgotten — the other growing greater day by day — a world 
hero — Mr. James L. Petigru and Gen. Robert E. Lee. Both were 
absolutely fearless, both absolutely upright, both absolutely truth- 
ful, both devoted to duty, both exercising during life a wide 
influence. Both ready to help in distress. To whom the poor and 
needy and weak never appealed in vain ; both with intellects that 
placed them in their several spheres far above all their contem- 
poraries. And yet, before the generation that knew him has 
passed away, I have been asked in a body of lawyers, when I men- 
tioned Petigru as the highest type of the lawyer I had ever had 
the privilege of knowing, who he was, when he lived, and what he 
had done. He lived and worked and toiled faithfully for that 
jealous mistress the law, and already his great reputation is seen 
to have been written on the seashore of time and is rapidly wash- 
ing away. 

With Lee, on the contrary, the great reputation graven on the 
monuments more eternal than brass are but graven deeper and 
deeper by time. And whatever in the future may happen to the 



8 

South, whether it produces statesmen again, known to the whole 
world — without whose name the world's history cannot be written 
— and who shall join in the building up of this mightiest empire 
the world has ever known — or be, as at present, the mere fly on the 
chariot shaft ; its name and history as identified with Lee and his 
glorious Army of Northern Virginia will be engraved deeply on 
those same tablets of brass and will not sink to oblivion. But it 
is time that I turn to the duty you have so kindly assigned to me 
as one of the staff of General Lee. 

To sketch even the outline of General Lee's military career till 
his life, begun by Colonel Marshall and yet to be completed, is 
given to the world, laying open more than what mere oiEcial 
records can show, will necessarily be unsatisfactory. 

Of course it is easy to sketch his career from West Point, 
through the Mexican war, to the opening of the great Civil war. 
The histoiy of those days has been fully written, and no doubt 
finally written ; but from that time on no full history, sanctioned 
and approved by him, or those naturally acquainted with his 
views, as, for instance, Colonel Taylor, perhaps his most intimate 
staff officer during the war, has been written. That by Colonel 
Long, his staff officer, fills the void only in jjart— it is so brief. 
The campaign of West Virginia is not now recognized as the 
absolute failure it was considered in 1862, and the clamor of the 
South Carolina papers when the "mud-digger" was given com- 
mand over the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, etc., against him, 
and the demand that a brigadier general of this State should 
have the command, sounds now as the mere madness of the pass- 
ing hour; fortunately it was then treated as the madness of the 
ignorant, and was without influence. 

While it is true that the defense of the seacoast of Georgia and 
South Carolina as planned by General Lee remained substantially 
unchanged during the four years of the war, and was successfully 
maintained, yet the most interesting part of Lee's career, and that 
most known to the world, which, from no mean soldier (Lord 
Wolseley), has won for him the well-earned praise of being not 
only the "greatest soldier of his age," but also of "the most perfect 
man I ever met," dates from his taking command of the Army of 
Northern Virginia — great praise, certainly, when we recall that 
the man thus placed above his compeers was the unsuccessful 



Lee compared with the unsuccessful Sydney Johnson, Joe John- 
ston, "Stonewall" Jackson, etc., the successful Grant, Sherman, 
Sheridan, McPherson, etc., of this country, and the successful von 
Moltke and Skobeleff, etc., of Europe. Von Moltke, too, we should 
recall, places General Lee above Wellington. 

Lord Wolseley wrote thus just after Lee's death: Forty years 
later, in his personal memoirs, when time had matured his judg- 
ment. Lord Wolseley styles himself; "A close student of war all 
my (his) life, and especially of this Confederate war, and with a 
full knowledge of the battles fought during its progress," repeats 
his judgment that General Lee was "the greatest of all modern 
leadei's," and compares his campaign of 1862 with that of Napo- 
leon's of 1796. Speaking of his visit to General Lee, he says : "I 
have taken no special trouble to remember all he said to me then 
(1862) and during subsequent conversations, and yet it is still 
fresh in my recollection. But it is natural that it should be so, for 
he was the ablest general, and to me seemed the greatest man I 
ever conversed with ; and yet I have had the privilege of meeting 
von Moltke and Prince Bismarck, and at least on one occasion had 
a very long and intensely interesting conversation with the latter. 
General Lee was one of the few men who ever seriously impressed 
and awed me with their natural and their inherent gi'eatness. 
Forty years have come and gone since our meeting, and yet the 
majesty of his manly bearing, the genial winning grace, the 
sweetness of his smile and the impressive dignity of his old-fash- 
ioned style of address, come back to me amongst the most 
cherished of my recollections. His greatness made me humble, 
and I never felt my own individual insignificance more keenly 
than I did in his presence. His was indeed a beautiful character, 
and of him it might truthfully be written: 'In righteousness he 
did judge and make war'." 

Nor does Lord Wolseley in these opinions stand alone. His 
judgment is that of such military writers and critics as Chesney, 
Lawler, and of the higher press. Northern as well as foreign. 

Says Lord Wolseley again: "I desire to make Iniown to the 
reader not only the renowned soldier, whom I believe to have been 
the greatest of his age, but to give some insight into the character 
of one whom I have always considered the most perfect man I 
ever met." 



lO 



It would, therefore, be a mere vain repetition to repeat praises 
made by those so competent to judge and whose opinions will 
weigh. 



It will, therefore, be far more profitable and suitable to this 
occasion to note an apparent change of opinion which some of 
the more recent writers seem to take, and the effort to elevate one 
of Lee's subordinates above him; passing over the omissions, for 
instance, of General Jackson and giving him the credit due really 
to General Lee. Is this well founded ? General Jackson has had 
the good fortune of having his life written by .several devoted 
friends — two clergymen, members of his staff — more apt to be 
partisans than cool judges — and Colonel Henderson, even, seems 
to be guided by Mrs. Jackson. 

General Lee's life has not yet been written by such, except the 
brief life suggested rather than written by General Long. So the 
world has General Jackson's side of the case, while the other is 
wanting. The battles around Richmond wei'e brilliant successes 
for General Lee, and no one disj^utes that he planned them; yet 
they were not as comj^lete as they should have been, and would 
have been, if General Jackson had not delayed at Ashland, and 
again at A^Tiite Oak Swamp. General Jackson had been sent for 
by General Lee before he opened the battles, and brought to 
Richmond from the valley, and fully informed of the campaign 
planned. The initial move hinged upon Jackson. With his wing 
of the army he should have passed Ashland and been at Slash 
Church practically on the 25th of June, 1862, and then attacked 
McClellan on the flank, but he had not then passed Ashland, and 
did not attack McClellan till the afternoon of the 26th, thus 
occasioning the check and useless heavy loss at Beaver Dam ; the 
enemy retired from the latter place as soon as Jackson reached 
his flank. So also the next day at ^Vliite Oak Swamp. By his 
delay there he failed to support the attack of Longstreet and Hill 
at Frazier's farm, and thus "McClellan only escaped destruction 
through the non-execution of Lee"s orders." Colonel Henderson 
and Captain Battine would have us believe that these were errors 
of General Lee, and not of General Jackson; in Lee's failing to 
give Jackson precise orders. 



II 



General Longstreet thus states the mattei" "When he (Lee) 
set out on liis first campaign (Chickahominy) with the army, the 
key of the campaign was intrusted to General Jackson, who named 
the hour for the opening and failed to meet his own appointment. 
At the time he appointed, A. P. Hill's, D. H. Hill's, and Long- 
street's commands were in position waiting (Beaver Dam, etc.). 
About eight hours after his time was up, he deliberately marched 
past the engagement and went into camp, a mile or more behind 
the hot battle. He remained in his camp next morning, and per- 
mitted the enemy, dislodged of his position of the day before, to 
march by him to a strong position at Gaines's Mill. Wlien his 
column reached that position, his leading division (D. H. Hill's) 
engaged the enemy's right without orders. He called the division 
off and put his command in position to intercept the enemy's 
X'etreat towards the Pamunkey, from which he was afterwards 
called to his part in the general engagement. The next day he had 
the cavalry and part of his infantry in search of the enemy's next 
move. At my headquarters were two clever young engineers 
who were sent to find what the enemy was about; they were the 
first to report the enemy's retreat towards James River. Orders 
were given for Jackson to follow on the direct line of retreat, 
also Magruder and Huger. My command was ordered around 
through the outskirts of Richmond, by the Darbytown Road, to 
interpose between McClellan's army and the James River, about 
twenty miles ; the other troops marching by routes of about nine 
miles. We were in position on the evening of the 29th June, and 
stood in front of the enemy all of the 30th, fighting a severe battle 
in the afternoon. Magruder and Huger got up after night, and 
Jackson on the morning of the 1st. After the battle of the 1st, 
Jackson, Magruder and Huger were ordered in direct pursuit 
along the route of retreat, my command by the longer route of 
Nance's Store. Jackson's column and mine met on the evening of 
the 3rd near Westover, the enemy's new position." 

Naturally this may be tinged somewhat by Longstreet's bitter- 
ness under the criticisms of himself after Gettysburg; still Long- 
street was not one to misrejjresent facts. 

Again, of this White Oak Swamp delay, Colonel Allan, Jack- 
son's own chief of ordnance and his devoted friend, says : 



12 

"Only the column under Longstreet and Hill did anything, the 
others accomplished nothing. They did not even prevent rein- 
forcements from going to the Federal centre. It is impossible to 
deny that General Lee was very poorly served on the occasion by 
his subordinates. Holmes was so imposed upon by Porters' 
demonstration that he was not only paralyzed for the day, but 
continued inactive during the great struggle at Malvern Hill. 
* * * Magruder, out of the fight, spent the afternoon in 
marching and countermarching. * * * Huger's feeble opera- 
tions were the most disappointing of all. He was nearest to Long- 
street, and he was almost on the edge of the battlefield, yet he did 
nothing, * * * nor is it possible to free from blame on this 
occasion a greater soldier than Holmes or Huger; Jackson, igno- 
rant of the country, had, in the swamp and Franklin's veterans, 
substantial causes of delay, but they were not such obstacles as 
usually held Jackson in check. * * * Jackson's comparative 
inaction was a matter of surprise at the time, and has never been 
satisfactorily exjDlained." 

Kemarkable as the admission of Colonel Allan, Jackson's staif 
officer, that Jackson is really to blame for the failure of a com- 
plete victory in the battles around Richmond, equally remarkable 
is the present admission of another of his staff officers (Rev. Mr. 
Jones), that Chancellorsville is General Lee's work, not Jackson's. 
Instead of suggesting the flank movement to General Lee's ques- 
tion, "How can we get at these people?" he replies only, "You 
know ; show me what to do, and I'll do it." When General Lee 
had explained the movement, he caught it quick enough and 
executed it with his usual force and vigor. "Such an executive 
officer the sun never shone on," said General Lee of him; or, as 
McClellan is said to have expressed it, "Jackson is the best execu- 
tive officer of the Confederacy, as Lee is its greatest general." 
Despite of all the balderdash and exaggerated fine writing of Gen- 
eral Gordon, Captain Battine has gone too fast and too far ahead, 
even of Colonel Henderson, in claiming Chancellorsville for 
General Jackson. The truth is now gradually coming to light. 
It is becoming clearer and clearer that Chancellorsville was 
fought, as it was fought, really against Jackson's ideas. He 
wished to attack Sedgwick — not move on Hooker. Even when in 
front of Chancellorsville, he thought Hooker would cross the river 



13 

and move to support Sedgwick. "General Lee seemed to be the 
only one who seemed to have the absolute conviction that the 
real move of the Federal army was the one he was meeting then." 
Replying to Jackson, finally, "But, general, we must get ready to 
attack the enemy if we should find him here tomorrow, and you 
must make all arrangements to move around his right flank." 
Then, says a bystander, "Jackson's face lighted with a smile, and 
rising and touching his cap, he said, 'My troops will move at four 
o'clock.' " 

General Lee's own words are in a letter he wrote in reply to an 
enquiry by Bledsoe, seeking to give Jackson the credit of Chan- 
cellorsville, but wise enough to enquire if he was correct: "I have 
the greatest reluctance to say anything that might be considered 
as detracting from his (Jackson's) well-deserved fame, for I 
believe no one was more convinced of his worth or appreciated 
him more highly than myself; yet your knowledge of military 
affairs, if you have none of the events themselves, will teach you 
that this could not have been so. Every movement of an army 
must be well considered and properly ordered, and every one who 
knew General Jackson must know that he was too good a soldier 
to violate this fundamental principle. In the operations around 
Chancellorsville, I overtook General Jackson, who had been 
placed in command of the advance as the skirmishers of the 
approaching armies met, advanced with the troops to the Federal 
line of defenses, and was on the field until their whole army 
recrossed the Rappahannock. There is no question as to who was 
responsible for the operations of the Conferedates, or to whom 
any failure would have been charged." 

The writer of General Jackson's life, to exonerate him from the 
blame of the failure at Ashland and ^Vliite Oak Swamp to play 
his allotted part in the battles before Richmond, throws the blame 
on Lee, as having failed to give Jackson specific orders. I don't 
suppose that to Longstreet, or Jackson, or Hill, or Stuart, General 
Lee ever gave iron-clad orders. Wlien Jackson had been informed 
of the plans of the attack and fully discussed them at Richmond, 
and knew the time fixed for the movement of the troops, on the 
left of the enemy, he could not have failed to know that he was 
to attack at that time, and to cooperate. Yet greater are the mis- 
rei^resentations which have been made by General Jackson's 



H 

admirers as to Chancellorsville. Of a victoi-y, perhaps the 
greatest won by the Army of Northern Virginia, in the triumph 
of which Providence, alas, kept him from sharing, everything has 
been chiimed for him. Fortunately so openly that General Lee 
was compelled, by their own action, to notice the claim. He 
does this in his usual modest, self-deprecatory way, viz., in a letter 
to Mrs. Jackson herself of 25th January, 1866, in reply to one 
from her, I quote from it : "The opinion of General Jackson in 
reference to the propriety of attacking the Federal Army under 
General McClellan at Harrison's Landing is not, I think, cor- 
rectly stated. Upon my arrival there the day after General 
Longstreet and himself, I was disappointed that no opportunity 
for striking General McClellan on the retreat, or in his then 
position, had occurred ; and went forward with General Jackson 
alone on foot, and after a careful reconnoissance of the whole 
line and position, he certainly stated to me at that time the imjiro- 
priety of attacking. I am misrepresented at the battle of Chan- 
cellorsville in proposing an attack in front, the first evening of 
our arrival. On the contrary, I decided against it, and stated to 
General Jackson we must attack on our left as soon as practicable, 
and the necessary movement of troops began immediately." If 
Lee decided against this, Jackson alone could have proposed it. 

This letter of General Lee settles forever, or should settle for- 
ever, the claim of General Jackson's friends that he was the author 
of the celebrated flank movement at Chancellorsville, or that he 
even suggested it. It is absurd enough to claim that in any battle 
a subordinate should direct it and have the credit for it. He obeys 
orders, and General Jackson said often he would obey any officer 
in command cheerfully, but General Lee he would follow blind- 
fold, and at Chancellorsville, he did obey. But, in fact, Chan- 
cellorsville was not fought according to Jackson's suggestion at 
all. AVlien Sedgwick crossed the Rappahannock and formed his 
line of battle in fi'ont of Fredericksburg, while Hooker crossed the 
same river some miles above, Jackson urged that Sedgwick should 
be attacked. General Lee was satisfied that the main attack was 
to be by Hooker, and that he should attack Hooker, and not wait 
for his attack. I well remember the occasion, almost every staff 
officer of Lee had been sent out to observe Sedgwick's move- 
ments. The two armies were in line opposite each other, but 



15 

both apparently absolutely quiet — so quiet that a deer which was 
caught between the lines was pursued by the .men of both sides. 
The moment it jjassed a certain imaginary line the men of one side 
ceased pursuit, and the opposite side took it up, till the deer was 
finally caught by the Federals, but not even a picket fired a shot. 
During the friendly contest not a shot was fired even by a picket. 
General Lee was confined to his bed by the disease which 
finally troubled him so much, the adhesion of the pleura to the 
side, and Jackson sat by his bedside discussing the situation. 
Upon Lee's staff reporting General Jackson's views still differing 
from his. General Lee got up from his bed and rode to a hill, from 
which most of the ground could be seen. For about an hour, with 
his glasses, he closely and silently scrutinized the enemy's lines. 
Then, turning to General Jackson, he remarked : "Our fight must 
be at Chancelloi-sville," and by signal ordered General Anderson, 
then near Chancellorsville with his division, not to bring on a 
fight, but to hold the enemy without doing this, and ordered 
McLaws to move to Anderson's aid at once, and ordered General 
Jackson to move his command before daylight to where Ander- 
son was, near Chancellorsville, and to take command there till he 
(Lee) should reach the spot; and ordered his general staff to be 
ready before daylight to report to General Jackson. We were 
all ready before day, but General Jackson did not pass our 
quarters till the sun was well up, and his command followed a 
little later. General Long states that General Jackson passed 
headquarters at 9 a. m., but it was earlier, according to my recol- 
lection. About 9 a. m. General Jackson was upon the battlefield, 
and was arranging to oj^en the battle with General Anderson's 
division, before Hill, Colston and Rodes were in line. General 
Lee, who had quitted his sick bed, learning this, reached the field 
on a galloji and the attack, by his order, was reduced to a skirmish 
till Hill and McLaws were in position to join, and then the real 
attack began, supported by Colston and Rodes in reserve. It is 
pleasant to mention here an anecdote of a brilliant soldier of the 
Confederacy, whose life was sacrified for its sake. Jackson's corps 
was in three lines : First, Hill ; second, Colston, and third, Rodes. 
Hill being outnumbered and hard pressed called on Colston for 
support. He replied he had no orders. The gallant, glorious, 
youthful Alabamian Rodes who, with his men were lying down 



i6 

behind him, heard this. He sprang up and called his men, "Hill 
■wants help, we'll help him." The men were up in a moment with 
a Rebel yell, and their charge, with Hill's, drove the enemy back 
and won the day and the handsome young brigadier his major 
generalship, for that evening General Lee asked it for him by 
telegrajjli. Colston was not heard of again in the Army of 
Northern Virginia after this battle. 

Colonel Henderson, in his life of Stonewall Jackson, evidently 
writes on papers and memoranda furnished to him by Mrs. Jack- 
son, and is evidently strongly biased by them; still he prints 
General Lee's letter to Mrs. Jackson correcting some of the Rev. 
Dr. Dabney's errors. Unfortunately, however, for the truth of 
history, the book that Colonel Henderson has written is the most 
important book on the war in Virginia, and is entirely openly 
partisan for General Jackson. General Lee's book on the war is 
not yet before the world. So the matter has gone and now, in the 
last English book on the subject, by Captain Battine, we find this 
most positive statement : "The fall of the chief who designed and 
executed the master stroke in the very hour of victory adds pathos 
to the story, and apj^ropriately closed his (Jackson's) too brief 
career of glory. Great as were the moral and material results of 
the victory, they were bought at all too dear a price, for with the 
fatal shot which struck down Stonewall Jackson began the series 
of disastrous events leading to the conquest of the Confederacy." 
General Jackson, in fact, merely opened the battle of Chancellors- 
ville. It was won the next day, when he had, imfortunately, been 
wounded and had been carried away from the field. 

Doubtless it is true what Captain Battine says of General Jack- 
son; every A. N. Va. man will join him in it most fully: "The 
possession of such a leader is of {jriceless value to any State in 
time of war." But the fact that General Jackson's achievements 
have been written of by his friends, his widow and chaplain 
apparently inspiring them, has given, I think, an undue color. 

The valley campaign was ordered and conceived by General 
Johnston. General Johnston told me this himself, and his 
Memoirs verify it. Jackson executed his orders as only the "best 
executive officer the sun ever shone on" could execute them it is 
true. The same, changing the name of Joe Johnston to Lee, is 
true of his other campaigns, and so, doubtless, when the history of 



17 

the Civil War is fully written, General McClellan's opinion will 
be found the correct one, that "Lee, as a general, was incompar- 
ably the first of the Confederates, and Jackson, as an executive 
officer, without an equal among them." 

The judgment of General Early, himself a soldier, and inti- 
mately acquainted with both Lee and Jackson, and having served 
throughout the war in the Army of Northern Virginia, will be 
accepted above that of Captain Battine. 

'"As glorious as was this victory (Chancellorsville) it never- 
theless shed a gloom over the whole army and country, for in it 
had fallen the great lieutenant to whom General Lee had always 
intrusted the execution of his most daring plans, and who had 
proved himself so worthy of the confidence reposed in him. It is 
not necessary for me to stop here, to delineate the character and 
talents of General Jackson. As long as unselfish patriotism, 
Christian devotion, and purity of character, and deeds of heroism 
shall command the admiration of men, Stonewall Jackson's name 
and fame will be reverenced. Of all who mourned his death, none 
felt more acutely the loss the country and the army has sustained 
than General Lee. General Jackson had always appreciated and 
sympathized with the bold conceptions of the commanding gen- 
eral, and entered upon their execution with the most cheerful 
alacrity and zeal. General Lee never found it necessary to accom- 
joany him, to see that his plans were carried out, but could always 
trust him alone ; and well might he say, when Jackson fell, that he 
had lost his 'right arm.' '' 

I don't think one need fear much that Captain Battine will 
change the view of histoiy, which already seems to have j)ut Lee 
and Jackson in their proper positions — one the natural com- 
mander, the other his right hand. 

And perhaps, too, if we seek the opinions of English soldiers, 
that of Colonel Lawler may be nearer the truth than Captain Bat- 
tine, viz. : "But, after all, the one name, which in connection with 
the great American Civil War posteri narratimi atque traditum 
superstes erit, is the name of Robert Edward Lee"; and Colonel 
Chesney: "The day will come * * * History will speak with a 
clear voice * * * and place above all others the name of the great 
chief of whom we have written (Lee). In strategy, mighty; in 
battle, terrible; in adversity and in prosperity, a hero indeed; 



i8 

with the simple devotion to duty and the rare pui'ity of the ideal 
Christian knight, he joined all the kingly qualities of a leader of 
men." 

"There is a true glory and a true honor: The glory of duty 
done. The honor of integi'ity and principle. "J After Lee's death, 
an old knapsack which he had used was found with a few bread 
crumbs and an old slip of dingy paper with these words written 
on them. This had gone through the war with him — aye, through 
life. 

And so, despite modern seekers after something new, the Con- 
federacy can safely leave the memory of its greatest man, whether 
citizen or soldier "General E. E. Lee, the most stainless of living 
commanders, and, except in fortune, the greatest." 




MARY cusrrs lee; puesen ted by mrs. lf.e to 

MRS. jOViNES. 



19 



ADDRESS 
LEE. THE COLLEGE PRESIDENT 

By Dr. Edward S. Joynes. 

The most glorious object in nature is the sun. Yet in full 
meridian its brightness dazzles the eye. But sometimes, m the 
subdued glow of sunset, its magic radiance is revealed m resplen- 
dent charm of light and color, more beautiful because less 
dazzling, than the midday brilliance. So it is sometimes, but 
rarely, in human character. So it was, notably, with him whose 
statue guards this capitol— South Carolina's noblest hero and 
exemplar, Hampton— whose work in the evening of his life, as the 
great Pacificator, outshines even the glory of his military achieve- 
ments. So it was, most conspicuously, with Robert E. Lee, who in 
his latest years, in the humble office of a college president, bearing 
bravely the burden of daily duty, beneath the weight of a disap- 
pointment which might well have crushed the strongest heart, 
was yet to illustrate and confirm the finest traits of a character 
whose perfection and power, on the highest fields of action, had 
already won the admiration of the world. 

I am to speak of General Lee as a College President only— not 
at all of his larger life or achievement in military service. In 
this humbler capacity it was my privilege to serve him and to 
know him intimately— a privilege— ah, how great!— so great that 
I did not realize it until it was gone. Yet, ever since, I look back 
upon it, with increasing estimate, as the golden age of my life— 
and with ever increasing regret that I could not know him better 
and serve him better than I did. Such, I know, was the feeling of 
all of us who were privileged to serve with him— of whom I am 
now, with one exception, the sole survivor.* Today, all over the 



•The other survivor of the fac'ulty is my class-mate at the University of V.r- 
einia (1853), Alexander L. Nelson. Professor of Mathemnties for fifty-two years 
a854.1906)-now retired on the Carnegie Foundation. Others, since d.st.ngmslaed 
as teachers or otherwise, were then young instructors, hut not members of the 
faculty The Rev. Dr. J. William Jones, General Lee's biographer and trusted friend, 
was one of the chaplains of the College. It would be impossible to enumerate the 
students of that day who have since attained distinction. 



20 

South, in many colleges as elsewhere, this Centennial is fitly cele- 
brated ; for General Lee, as a college president, has ennobled every 
college in the land, and the memory of his great example will be 
cherished so long as recurring centennials shall come. 

In what I shall say to you, my friends, I shall speak without 
ornament or oratory, but simply, and of intimate personal knowl- 
edge. I shall make large use of material written by myself soon 
after General Lee's death, when recollection was fresher than 
now.* Much of documentary evidence, which, though interesting, 
has already been widely published, I shall omit ; and if, on other 
somewhat technical points, I seem to go too much into detail, my 
apology must be that, in my opinion, all authentic facts concern- 
ing General Lee, as a college president, are of permanent intei'est 
and importance. 

General Lee accepted the presidency of Washington College, in 
the first place, from a profound and deliberate sense of duty. The 
same high principle of action that had characterized his conduct 
in the gravest crises of public affairs marked his decision here; 
and here, as ever, duty alone determined his choice.* There was 
absolutely nothing in this jjosition that could have tempted him. 
Not only was it uncongenial with all the habits of his past life, 
and remote from all the associations in which he had formerly 
taken pleasure, but it was at that time most uninviting in itself. 
The college to which he was called was broken in fortune and in 
hope. The war had practically closed its doors. Its buildings had 
been pillaged and defaced, and its library scattered. It had now 
neither money nor credit, and it was even doubtful whether it 
would be shortly reopened at all for the reception of students. 
The faculty were few in number, disorganized and dispirited. 
Of the slender endowment that had survived the war hardly any- 
thing was available, and ready money could not be secured even 
for the most immediate and pressing wants of the college. Under 
these circumstances the offer of the presidency to General Lee 
seemed well-nigh presumptuous; /'and surely it was an offer from 
which he had nothing to expect, either of fortune or of fame. The 



•In December, 1870, for the University Monthlv (March, 1871). 
•His letter of acceptance, often printed, strikingly Illustrates this trait of his 
character, as well as hla modest; and unselfishness. 



21 

men, however, who made this election, the trustees of Wasliington 
College — ever honored be their memory for their noble concep- 
tion — had not calculated in vain in their estimate of General Lee's 
character. They felt that this position, however humble it might 
seem, would afford to him what from their knowledge of the man 
they were sure would be the most acceptable to him — a sphere 
of duty in which he could spend his days in the service of his 
beloved people ; and though the country looked on astonished and 
incredulous, the result showed that they had not been mistaken.* 
Suffice it to say here, that it was a deliberate sense of duty to his 
fellow-countrymen, and a desire to pay back as far as he could, 
through their sons, the sufferings and sorrows of his own genera- 
tion in the South, that determined his decision. He had already 
fully resolved not to leave Virginia under any circumstances ; and 
this position, humble as it seemed to be, gave him the wished-for 
©Importunity of laboring for her people and for the South. There- 
fore he accepted it. 

The profound sense of duty which marked General Lee's accep- 
tance of this office characterized also his whole administration of 
it. He entertained the profoundest convictions on the importance 
of educational influences, both to individuals and to the country, 
and the deepest sense of personal responsibility in his own office. 
He felt that an institution like Washington College owed duty 
not only to its own students but to the whole country, and that its 
moral obligations were not only supreme within its own sphere, 
but were attached to the wider interests of public virtue and of 
true religion among all the people. Everybody around him felt 
unconsciously that he was actuated by these principles, and all 
were impressed by his high conceptions of duty and the singleness 
of his devotion to it. Nothing else, indeed, could have sustained 
him so serenely through so many and so constant details of labor 
and of trial. \Nothing else could have held his thoughts so high or 
kept his heart so strong in the midst of daily tasks always so 
severe, often so trivial and discouraging. But he never flagged; 
and though he fully comprehended the difficulties of his office, 
and was often wearied with its incessant labors, no word of 



•Details of this event — as of many other facts herein referred to — may be found 
In Jones' "Personal Reminiscences." 



22 

despondency fell from his lips. He felt that he was doing his 
duty. "I have," he said, as reported by the Hon. Mr. Hilliard,* 
"a self-imposed task which I cannot forsake"'; and in this spirit 
he met all the details of his daily labors, cheerfully to the lastj/ 
Again and again, during his life at Lexington, were temjiting 
offers urged upon him — offers of large income, with comparative 
ease and more active and congenial employment; but though he 
fullj' appreciated these considerations and was not indifferent to 
the attractions presented by such offers, he turned from them all 
with the same rejDly. He had chosen his post of duty and he clung 
to it. Year by year the conception of his duty seemed to grow 
stronger with him ; and year by j'ear the college, as its instrument 
and representative, grew dearer to him. And as gradually the 
fruits of his labors began to be manifest, and the moral and intel- 
lectual results of his influence apj) roved themselves even to his own 
modest self-estimate, his heart grew only warmer, and his zeal 
more zealous, in his work. 

His sense of jjersonal duty was also expanded into a warm solic- 
itude for all who were associated with him. To the faculty he was 
an elder brother, beloved and revered, and full of all tender sym- 
pathj\* To the students he was a father in carefulness, in encour- 
agement, in reproof. Their welfare and their conduct and 
character as gentlemen were his chief concern ; and this solicitude 
was not limited to their collegiate years, but followed them 
abroad into life, i He thought it to be the office of a college not 
merely to educate the intellect, but to make Christian men. The 
moral and religious character of the students was more precious 
in his ej'es even than their intellectual progress, and was made the 
special object of his constant personal solicitude. In his annual 
reports to the trustees, which were models of clear and dignified 
composition, he always dwelt with peculiar emphasis upon these 
interests; and nothing in the college gratified him more than its 
marked moral and religious improvement during his adminis- 
tration. To the Eev. Dr. ^ATiite he said, as affectingly narrated 
soon after his death by that venerable minister: "I shall be dis- 



•See Jones' "Personal Reminiscences of Gen. R. E. Lee," p. 146. 

•General Lee's treatment of his faculty was not only courteous, but kind and 
affectionate. My wife reminds me that once, when I was detained at home by sicli- 
ness. General Lee came every day. through a deep Lexington snow, and climbed the 
high stairs, to Inquire about me and to comfort her. 



23 

appointed, sir — I shall fail in the leading object that brought me 
here — unless these young men all become consistent Christians." 
Other exjji-essions, bearing eloquent witness to the same truth, 
might be quoted ; but none could be more eloquent than the steady 
tenor of his own life, quietly yet constantly devoted to the highest 
ends of duty and of religion.* 

Such were the principles which actuated General Lee as presi- 
dent of Washington College, and their effects showed themselves 
in all the details of his administration. In the discipline of the 
college his moral influence was supreme. A disciplinarian in the 
ordinary sense of the term, as it is often most unworthily applied, 
he was not. He was no seeker-out of small offences, no stickler for 
formal regulations.! I'^ his construction of college rules, and in 
his dealings with actions generally, he was most liberal ; but in 
his estimate of motives, and in the requirements of principle and 
honor, he was exacting to the last degree. Youthful indiscretion 
found in him the most lenient of judges; but falsehood or mean- 
ness had no toleration with him. He looked rather to the prin- 
ciples of good conduct than to mere outward acts. He was most 
scrupulous in exacting a proper obedience to lawful authority; 
but he was always the last to condemn, and the most just to 
hear the truth, even in behalf of the worst offenders. Hence 
in the use of college punishments he was cautious, forbearing, 
and lenient; but he was not the less firm in his demands and 
prompt, when need was, in his measures. His reproof was stern, 
yet kind, and often melting in its tenderness; and his appeals, 
always addressed to the noblest motives, were irresistible. The 
hardiest offenders were alike awed by his presence, and moved 



' *Great as was the need of the College for academic buildings, yet the first 
building erected, under General Lee's direction, was a chapel for worship — the same 
under which his remains lie burled — and he never failed there to attend morning 
prayers or public worship. (Gen. Lee's views on religious training are fully set 
forth by my colleague, Rev. Dr. Kirkpatrlck, in Dr. Jones' "Personal Reminiscences 
of General Lee.") 

tThe "honor principle" — which is the pride of Southern colleges — never had a 
stronger advocate or a better illustration than General Lee. He did not approve of 
military regulations in college. I have heard him say that military discipline was, 
unfortunately, necessary in military education, but was, in his opinion, a most 
unsuitable training for civil life. A still more remarliable expression is recorded 
by Professor Humphreys, in the memorial number of the Wake Forest Student: 
"He warned me" (Prof. H. was then an instructor in the (College) "against inflex- 
ible rules adopted beforehand, and suddenly startled me by saying; 'The great mis- 
take of my life was taking a military education.* " 



24 

often to tears by his words; and there was no student who did 
not dread a reproof from General Lee more than every other 
punishment. In all his official actions, and, indeed, in all his inter- 
course with the students, he looked to the elevation of the tone of 
principle and opinion among themselves, as the vital source of 
good conduct, rather than to the simple repression of vice. His 
discipline was moral rather than punitive. Hence there were few 
cases of dismission or other severe punishment during his admin- 
istration, and hence, also, the need for such punishments became 
ever less and less. 

The influence of this policy, aided especially by the mighty 
influence of his personal character, was all-powerful. The eleva- 
tion of tone and the improvement in conduct were steady and 
rajsid. Immediately after the war the young men of the South 
were wild and unrestrained, and acts of disorder were frequent; 
in the latter years of his administration hardly a single case of 
serious discipline occurred. I doubt, indeed, whether at any other 
college in the world so many young men could have been found 
as free from misconduct, or marked by as high a tone of feeling 
and opinion, as were the students of Washington College during 
these latter years of General Lee's life. The students felt this and 
were proud of it; and they were proud of themselves and of 
their college as representatives of the character and influence 
of Lee. 

Yet not the less was he rigidly exacting of duty and scrupu- 
lously attentive to details. By a system of reports, weekly and 
monthly — almost military in their exactness — which he required 
of each professor, he made himself acquainted with the standing 
and progress of every student in every one of his classes* These 
reports he studied carefully and was quick to detect shortcomings. 
He took care, also, to make himself acquainted with each student 
personally, to know his studies, his boarding-house, his associa- 
tions, disposition and habits; and though he never obtruded this 
knowledge, the students knew that he possessed it and that his 
interest followed them everywhere. Nor was it a moral influence 



•An Illustration of this careful attention is related by one of my colleagues : 
On one occasion the delinquency of a student was mentioned In faculty meeting. 

"Mr. ," said General Lee, "I do not know him" — and seemed mortified at the 

omission. On Inquiry It was found that the student had recently entered during 
the absence of General Lee — who at once proceeded to make his acquaintance. 



25 

alone that he exerted in the college. He was equally careful of its 
intellectual interests. Though not personally engaged in teaching, 
he watched the progress of every class, attended all the examina- 
tions and frequently the recitations, and strove constantly to 
stimulate both professors and students to the highest attain- 
ments.! The whole college, in a word, felt his influence as an 
ever-present motive, and his character was quietly yet irresistibly 
impressed upon it, not only in the general working of all its 
departments, but in all the details of each. 

Of this influence General Lee, modest as he was, was perfectly 
aware and, like a prudent ruler, he husbanded it with a wise 
economy. He preferred to confine his direct interposition to 
purely personal acts; and rarely, and then only on critical occa- 
sions, did he step forward to present himself before the whole 
body of students in the full dignity of his presidential office. On 
these occasions, which were always rare and in his later years 
hardly ever occurred, he would quietly post an address to the 
students, in which, appealing only to the highest piinciples of 
conduct, he sought to dissuade them from threatened evil. These 
addresses, which the boys designated as his ^'■General Orders,'''' 
were always of immediate efficacy, and no student would have 
been tolerated by his fellow-students who would have dared to 
disregard such an appeal from General Lee.* 



tGeneral Lee never failed to attend every examination, dividing the time among 
the several classes. Every week he devoted an hour or more to attending recita- 
tions. He came when least expected, and his presence was a stimulus to both stu- 
dents and professors — such as I have never since experienced. He would remain 
10 or 15 minutes and then pass to another class. His bow, as he entered and left 
the room, was an impressive lesson in courtesy — that gracious courtesy which now 
seems to me to have almost departed from the new generation. 

•One of these addresses — on an occasion of threatened peril, when a company 
of Federal soldiers was encamped at Lexington, ready to take advantage of any 
disorder — is here appended. The original, copied for Gen. Lee by Mrs. Joynes and 
by him presented to her, now hangs in my study. 

Washington College, 26 Nov., 1866. 

The faculty desires to call the attention of the students to the disturbances 
which occurred in the streets of Lexington on the nights of Friday and Saturday 
last. They believe that none can contemplate them with pleasure, or can find any 
reasonable grounds for their justification. These acts are said to have been com- 
mitted by students of the college with the apparent object of disturbing the peace 
and quiet of a town whose inhabitants have opened their doors for their reception 
and accommodation, and who are always ready to administer to their comfort and 
pleasure. 

It requires but little consideration to see the error of conduct which could only 
have proceeded from thoughtlessness and a want of reflection. The faculty there- 
fore appeal to the honour and self-respect of the students to prevent any similar 



26 

General Lee was also most laborious in the duties of his office 
as a college president. He gave himself wholly to his work. His 
occupation was constant, almost incessant. He went to his office 
daily at eight o'clock, and rarely returned home until one or two. 
During tliis time he was almost incessantly engaged in college 
matters, giving his personal attention to the minutest details, and 
always ready to receive visitors on college business. His office was 
always open to students or professors, all whose interests received 
his ready consideration. His corresjoondence meanwhile was very 
heavy, yet no letter that called for an answer was ever neglected. 
It was stated by the editor of a Virginia paper that to a circular 
letter of general educational interest, addressed by him to a large 
number of college presidents. General Lee was the only one that 
replied ; yet he was the greatest and perhaps the busiest of them 
all. In addition to the formal reports, which he always revised 
and signed himself, his correspondence with the parents and 
guardians of students was intimate and explicit, on every occasion 
that required such corresi^ondence. Many of these letters are 
models of beautiful composition and noble sentiment.* 

These varied duties grew upon him year after year with the 
expanding interests of the college ; and year after year he seemed 
to become more devoted to them. Again and again did the 
trustees and faculty seek to lessen his labors; but his carefulness 
of duty and natural love of work seemed to render it impossible. 
Equally, he declined donations ofi'ered exj^ressly to raise his 
salary ; for the college, he said, needed money more than he did. 
The writer has heard the remark made that General Lee gave 
himself to the duties of President of Washington College as 
though he had never known any other duties or any other ambi- 
tion ; and this was true. He himself wrote to an old and famous 
comrade in arms, "I am charmed with the duties of civil life." 



occurrence, trusting that their sense of what is due to themselves, their parents 
and the institution to which they belong, will be more effectual in teaching them 
what is right and manly than anything they can say. 

There is one consideration connected with these disorderly proceedings which 
the faculty wish to bring to your particular notice : the example of your conduct, 
and the advantage taken of it by others, to commit outrages for which you have 
to bear the blame. They therefore exhort you to adopt the only course capable of 
shielding you from such charges : the effectual prevention of all such occurrences 
in future. R. E. LEE, Pres. W. C. 

•Some of these may be found among General Lee's published letters. 



27 

It can be truly said that he was wholly absorbed in his work, his 
noble conceiDtion of which made it great, and worthy even of him. 
But General Lee was not only earnest and laborious, he was also 
able, as a college president. He was perfectly master of the situ- 
ation, and thoroughly wise and skillful in all its duties, of 
organization and of policy as well as of detail. To this let the 
results of his administration bear testimony. He found the college 
practically bankrupt, disorganized, deserted; he left it strong, 
progressive, and crowded with students. It was not merely num- 
bers that he brought to it, for these his great fame alone would 
have attracted; he gave it organization, imity, energy, and prac- 
tical success. In entering upon his presidency he seemed at once 
fully to comj^rehend the wants of the college, and its history 
during the next five years was but the development of his plans 
and the reflection of his wise energy. And these i^lans were not 
fragmentary, nor was this energy merely an industrious zeal. He 
had from the beginning a distinct policy which he had fully 
conceived and to which he steadily adhered, so that all his par- 
ticular measures of progress were but consistent steps in its 
development. His object was nothing less than to establish and 
perfect an institution which should meet the highest needs of 
education in every department. At once, and without waiting for 
the means to be provided in advance, he proceeded to develop this 
purpose. Under his advice new chairs were created, and pro- 
fessors called to fill them ; so that before the end of the first year 
the faculty was doubled in numbers. Later, additional chairs were 
created, and finally a complete system of departments was estab- 
lished and brought into full operation. To these departments, 
each one of which was complete in itself and under the individual 
control of its own professor, was given a comjjact and unique 
organization into a system of complete courses, with corres- 
ponding diplomas and degrees; which, while securing the perfect 
distinctness and responsibility of each department, gave perfect 
unity to them all. These courses were so adapted and mutually 
arranged as to avoid alike the errors of the purely elective system 
on the one hand and of the close curriculum on the other, and to 
secure, by a happy compromise, the best advantages of both. So 
admirably was this plan conceived and administered that, 
heterogeneous as were the students especially in the earlier years. 



28 

each one found at once his proper place, and nearly all were kept 
in the line of complete and systematic study. 

Under this organization, and especially under the inspiration of 
General Lee's central influence, the utmost harmony and the 
utmost energy pervaded all the departments of the college. The 
highest powers of both pi'ofessors and students were called forth, 
under the fullest responsibility. The standards of scholarship 
were rapidly advanced; and soon the graduates of Washington 
College were the acknowledged equals of those from the best 
institutions elsewhere, and were eagerly sought after for the 
highest positions as teachers in the best schools. These results, 
which even in the few years of his administration had become 
universally acknowledged throughout the South, were due directly 
and immediately, more than to all other causes, to the personal 
ability and influence of General Lee, as president of the college. 

General Lee's plans for the development of Washington College 
were not simply progressive; they were distinct and definite. 
He aimed to make the college represent at once the wants and 
the genius of the country. He fully realized the needs of the 
present age, and he desired to adapt the education of the people 
to their condition and their destiny. He was the ardent advocate 
of complete classical and literary culture* Under his influence 
the classical and literary departments of the college were fully 
sustained. Yet he recognized the fact that material well-being 
is a condition of all high civilization, and therefore he sought to 
provide the means for the development of science and for its 
practical applications. He thought, indeed, that the best antidote 
to the materialistic tendencies of a purely scientific training was to 
be found in the liberalizing influences of literary culture, and that 
scientific and professional schools could best be taught when sur- 
rounded by the associations of a literary institution. He believed 
fully in the university idea and not in separate technical schools ; 
but that, as hereafter they must live together, so young men of 
diff'erent pursuits should be educated together, and that their 
mutual influence would be mutually beneficial in college as in 
later life. He sought, therefore, to establish this mutual connec- 
tion, and to consolidate all the departments of literaiy, scientific 



•He was often heard to regret that he had not more fully completed his flas- 
sical education before going to West Point. 



29 

and professional education under a common organization. Hence, 
at an early day, he called into existence the departments of 
Applied Mathematics and Engineering, of Modern Languages, 
and of Law, as part of the collegiate organization; and, later, he 
submitted to the trustees a plan for the complete development of 
the scientific and professional departments of the college, which 
will ever remain as an example of his enlarged wisdom, and which 
anticipated, by many years, the actual attainments of any school 
in this country.* In addition to all the other reasons for mourn- 
ing the death of General Lee, it is to be deeply I'egretti'd that he 
did not live to complete his great designs.* Had he done so, he 



•In the Washington College catalogue for 1868-69 (as part of General Lee's 
report to the Board of Trustees) may be found the outline of a School of Com- 
merce, which now. after nearly forty years. Washington and Lee University (see its 
last Summer Bulletin! has just been able to realize. A like course was included 
(I regret to say. unsuccessfully) in the recommendations of our own University to 
the present Legislature. So did General Lee anticipate the future, and so do his 
works live after him. 

I have elsewhere related how, in my first official Interview with him, he 
emphasized the teaching of Spanish, remarking (prophetically) that our relations 
with Spanish-speaking countries were destined soon to become closer. 

Properly to estimate the value of (general Lee's work, as a college president, 
and especially of the plana left unfullilled by his death, we must consider the 
condition of American colleges, generally, in the sixties, and not the more advanced 
conditions of the present day. And, for a just estimate of his labors, it must be 
remembered that in those days there were no telephones and no typewriters ; and, 
so far as I can recall. General Lee never had any private secretary. 

♦The successive catalogues of Washington College. 1866-70, exhibit an inter- 
esting chapter in the history of education, which, it is hoped, Washington and Lee 
University will some day make public ; for they show, in a striking way, the 
progressiveness and the elevation of (General Lee's ideas, beyond anything then 
realized, or even conceived, in American colleges. Having already established (in 
the first year) the departments of Applied Mathematics, of Civil Engineering, of 
Modern I^anguages and English, and of Law : and, in the second year, of History 
and English Literature, of Natural History and Geology, of Applied Chemistry and 
a Students' Business School, General Lee, in the next year (1868-09) recommended 
an extension of the scientific and practical courses, including : A Course of Agri- 
culture ; a Course of Commerce; a Course of Mechanical Engineering: a Course of 
Mining Engineering, and a Course of Chemistry Applied to the Arts. 

In recommending these courses, which are fully set forth in his report to the 
trustees, and which anticipate the best work of the best schools of the present day, 
General Lee wrote : 

"The great object of the whole plan Is to provide the facilities required by the 
large class of our young men, who, looking to an early entrance into the practical 
pursuits of life, need a more direct training to this end than the usual literary 
courses. The proposed departments will also derive great advantage from the 
literary Schools of the College, whose influence in the cultivation and enlargement 
of the mind is felt beyond their immediate limits." 

The fulfillment of these far-sighted plans was Interrupted by his death (October 
1870). The money, cheerfully subscribed for his sake all over the South, was no 
longer available. 



30 

would probably have left behind him an institution of learning 
which would have been a not less illustrious tribute to his fame 
than his most brilliant military achievements. As it is, he has 
left a university, which, dowered with his memory and his name, 
and inspired with his ideals, will always remain his noblest monu- 
ment. There today his memory has been celebrated, and his 
praises spoken by a distinguished citizen of Massachusetts, who, 
once a Union soldier, is now proud to claim the name and fame 
of Lee as the property and the glory of the nation. 

Outside of these more official statements there is much that I 
might say of General Lee in his more personal and private rela- 
tions. Yet such detail might be wearisome, and, besides, much of 
what I would say might be unsuitable for public utterance. But 
no one who ever enjoyed the privilege of intercourse with General 
Lee can forget that splendid and captivating personality. He was 
the handsomest man I have ever seen. Besides the utmost perfec- 
tion of form and feature he had a mingled sweetness and dignity 
of expression — an unconscious grace and majesty of appearance — 
"the like of which," says General Lord Wolseley," I have never 
seen in other men." His familiar conversation was kind and 
gracious, and often lightened by the play of genial humor. He 
enjoyed a joke and could tell one with a keen zest — but never was 
there any approach to unseemly levity, and no man could have 
dared to take liberties with General Lee. In his home, where I 
often met him in his family circle, he was most loving and lovable 
■ — and especially his demeanor to Mrs. Lee, who for some years 
had been disabled by rheumatism, was marked by a visible and 
touching tenderness. Of this dear and gracious lady, who to my 
wife and children showed the mingled love of friend and mother. 



One other paragraph, from the Catalogue of 18G7-68. I think worthy of record 
here : 

"The discipline has been placed upon that basis on which it is believed 
experience has shown it can be most safely trusted — upon the honour and self- 
respect of the students themselves. The entire government, and the intercourse 
of the faculty with the students, are adapted to the encouragement of these 
principles. The cultivation of a high tone of truthfulness and honour, and of 
a just and lofty public opinion among the students as a body, is believed to 
furnish a better safeguard for the discipline of the College, as well as a better 
assurance for the development of manly character, than any repressive or puni- 
tive regulations that could be adopted. Strict attention to duty is nevertheless 
required of all." 



31 

and whose memorials are among the dearest possessions of our 
household, I may not speak here, except to say, that she was 
worthy to be the wife of General Lee and the mother of his 
children. Of his devotion to her, and of his affectionate and 
beautiful family life, the richest proofs are given in his published 
letters — the most intimate of which exhibit, most unconsciously, 
the finest traits of his character. To all women he always showed 
the most chivalrous and delicate courtesy. Of children he was 
affectionately fond, and to them he was irresistibly attractive. 
They were often seen gathered around him on the campus, or in 
his quiet walks. 

In what is called "society" General Lee mingled but little — he 
had neither time nor inclination. But he was never forgetful of 
the "small, sweet courtesies of life." A stranger visiting Lexing- 
ton, a father or mother visiting a son at college, was sure of a 
call from General Lee, and with scrupulous courtesy he repaid the 
social attentions that he received. At his table he presided with 
his accustomed sweet and gentle dignity, and shared fully in 
social, often playful conversation. On special occasions he offered 
rare wines — I remember once some that had been bottled by his 
father. Of such he partook sparingly, but never — so far as I 
know — of any other intoxicating drink. He was fond of riding — 
almost every afternoon, when he had time; and General Lee on 
Traveller, booted and gauntleted — in winter with his military 
cloak — and accompanied, as he often was, by his favorite friend, 
Professor White — like himself a superb horseman — was the finest 
sight on which the eye could rest. How often — ah, how often ! I 
have watched that splendid spectacle ! 

In business matters, private or official. General Lee was accurate 
and methodical, and his annual reports were models of clear and 
comprehensive statement. In correspondence he was careful and 
scrupulously punctual. On this subject I can speak with knowl- 
edge, for it often fell to my lot to help him — as we were all ready 
to do — in answering his many letters. In private conversation he 
was quiet and genial. He never spoke — at least not in my hearing 
— of the war or of politics, except with the utmost reserve. Here 
his recollections were, doubtless, too painful. I never heard from 
his lips a word either of bitterness or of apology, nor any criticism 
of others. It is known, I believe, that he had intended to write the 



32 

history of his army, but that he desisted, because he thought this 
could not be done "without causing too much pain." Thus, for 
the sake of others, he forebore what would have been his own 
supreme vindication. So tender, so self-denying, was this great 
heart. 

As I look back now, through the haze of forty years, I can 
hardly realize, as I could not then, that this man, so quiet and so 
human — so simple in conduct and costume — so kind and friendly 
— so diligent in business — so social and cheerful — so unassuming 
and unpretending, as he shared or cheered our daily labors — was 
the same that had commanded great armies — had swayed the 
tide of battle — ^had borne the hopes and sorrows of a great people, 
and alike in victory and in defeat had given to his countrymen 
and to the world the last and highest ideal of the heroic com- 
mander. And yet — wonderful as it was and is — it was he; and 
after all, he was as great — as unequaled — on that college campus 
as on any battlefield — the same everywhere and always. "He 
was," says General Lord Wolseley, who knew him when at the 
head of his army, "the most perfect man I have ever met." and 
seemed "cast in a grander mould and made of finer metal than all 
other men." It is but small praise that I, who knew him in a 
narrower and more intimate sphere, should echo the same senti- 
ment.* 

It has been already said that to the individual professors Gen- 
eral Lee was always kind and accessible. In official relations he 
bore his authority modesth', yet always effectively. From each 
professor he required stated reports of his department, which he 
then transmitted to the trustees, with his own endorsement or 
comment, along with his own report. And after submitting his 
report, he always retired to his office to await the pleasure of the 
Board, in order not to embarrass their action by his presence. 



•Since this was written I have, for the first time, read in The Outlook, Nov. 26, 
1904, a most sympathetic and appreciative paper by Professor Edwin Mims, of 
Trinity College, N. C, entitled "Five Years of Robert E. Lee's Life," from which 
I regret that it is now too late to quote. This paper was written in review of 
"Recollections and Letters of General Lee," by (his son) Capt. Robert R. Lee — 
which volume, along with the "Personal Reminiscences." by the devoted chaplain, 
Dr. J. William Jones — offers the richest material for the study of Lee's life and 
character. 

I venture to hope that Trinity College, in its celebration of this Centennial, 
will reprint Professor Mims's paper entire. 



33 

In the weekly meetings of the faculty General Lee exerted 
rather an influence which seemed unconscious both to himself and 
to us, than any visible authority. Faculty meetings are apt to be 
wordy, and sometimes a little excited; but General Lee never 
showed impatience, and his quiet presence calmed every rising 
storm. Enough occurred, sometimes, to show that he had both a 
quick and a strong temper, but never for a moment did he lose 
self-control or forget either dignity or courtesy. He exerted him- 
self to minimize his own authority, and to leave to each professor 
the full sense of independence and responsibility. He never 
made a speech ; rarely, indeed, spoke from his chair or attempted 
by any expression of opinion to influence a pending vote. 
It need not be added, however, that when General Lee's views 
were known, they were always decisive, and no really important 
measure was ever introduced without consultation with him. 
Besides its exceptionally great ability, his was the best organized 
and most eiScient faculty I have ever served with. Its important 
work was done (as in Congress) by standing committees, and 
General Lee was always consulted in every case of importance or 
difficulty. Thus — though the initiative often came from another 
source — he was really identified with every important measure. 

I have said that General Lee rarely spoke in faculty meetings, 
but his influence was not the less felt. I have already stated how 
strongly he advocated and enforced the principle of honor in 
dealing with students, and his aversion to minute regulations. 
And occasionally he gave utterance to thoughts which I have 
always remembered and now deem worthy of record. On one 
occasion a professor cited a certain regulation, to which another 
replied that it was a dead letter. "Then," said General Lee, "let it 
be at once repealed. A 'dead letter' inspires disrespect for the 
whole body of laws; but as long as it stands, it should be 
enforced." On another occasion a jjrofessor appealed to prece- 
dent, and added: "We must not respect persons." "I always 
respect persons," replied General Lee, "and care little for pre- 
cedent." Again he said: "We must never make a rule that we 
cannot enforce"; and again, counseling a professor: "Never raise 
an issue which you are not prepared to maintain at all hazards"; 
and "Make no needless rules." 

As to his views of discipline, enough perhaps has been said 



34 

already. I may state, however, with reference to an important 
and often recurring question, that General Lee held idleness to be 
not a negative but a positive vice. "A young man," he said, "is 
always doing something — if not good, then harm to himself and 
others" — so that merely jDei'sistent idleness was, with him, suffi- 
cient cause for dismissal. Another interesting fact was this : In 
the old college, students had lived in dormitories. Now, General 
Lee advised all younger students to board and lodge in private 
families — reserving the dormitories as a special privilege for older 
students — because, he said, they offered special opportunities of 
license, while younger boys needed the restraining influences of 
family life. This view was amply vindicated by results, while 
thus also the town and the college were drawn into closer fellow- 
ship and sympathy. There was no "town and gown" in Lexington. 

One incident, personal to myself, is worth relating, for it teaches 
still, as it taught me, a valuable lesson. I often assisted General 
Lee in his correspondence — as we all sought to help him when 
we could. Once he gave me an important letter, which he asked 
me to answer "with care." I did my best. When I returned it, 
he read it carefully — then took up his pencil, and said: "Pro- 
fessor, this is very good, but it will be better if we strike out a few 
adjectives and adverbs" — then, handing it back, he said: "Now, 
if you will kindly copy it." I found that he had struck out every 
useless word, leaving the letter, of course, better than it was 
before. This incident I never forgot; — as a teacher of English 
I have quoted it again and again to my classes, and I recognize 
it now as the best lesson in composition I have ever received. In 
this connection I may remark that General Lee's own writings, 
whether official or private, are models of clear and correct form. 
He was a master of style, in both thought and expression. 

Of his dealings with students, by which he won their love as 
well as their reverence, many interesting anecdotes are related — I 
mention only one or two, which came imder my personal knowl- 
edge. 

I have said that by weekly reports he kept in close touch with 
all the classes. Especially no single unexcused absence was ever 
overlooked.* The delinquent was at once summoned to General 

•I take the liberty of adding here that, in this respect, General Lee's discipline 
was a model. His puctuality made it at once strict and easy. By thus meeting 
neglect and disorder on the threshold, he prevented their continuance ; and hence 
there were but few cases of prolonged misconduct to be desit with by him or by 
the faculty. 



35 

Lee's office — always a most dreaded ordeal — and his reception 
varied from "grave to gay" according to circumstances. I give 
an instance of each : A young fellow whose general record was 
none too good, was summoned to answer for absence. He stated 
his excuse, and then, hesitatingly, he added another and another. 

"Stop, Mr. ," said General Lee, "one good reason should be 

sufficient," with an emphasis on the word good that spoke volumes. 
Another, an excellent student, now a distinguished lawyer in 
Tennesessee, was once beguiled into an unexcused absence. The 
dreaded summons came. With his heart in his boots he entered 
General Lee's office. The General met him smiling: "Mr. M., I 
am glad to see you are better." "But, General, I have not been 
sick." "Then I am glad to see you had better news from home." 
"But, General, I have had no bad news." "Ah," said the General, 
"I took it for granted that nothing less than sickness or dis- 
tressing news from home could have kept you from your duty." 
Mr. M. told me, in relating this incident, that he then felt as if 
he wished the earth to open and swallow him. To a lazy fellow, 
he once said: "How is your mother? I am sure you must be 
devoted to her ; you are so careful of the health of her son" ; and 
to another, who was in rebellion against authority: "You cannot 
be a true man, until you learn to obey." 

Of General Lee's religious character I do not feel myself worthy 
to speak. That he was deeply, sincerely religious, with a perfect, 
trusting faith in God and in Christ — that by this he was guided 
and upborne in every act and every trial — that this he sought, 
unobstrusively yet earnestly to impress upon his family, his com- 
munity, his college — as he had done upon his army — this is 
manifest from all the course of his life, as from his writings. His 
last afternoon was spent in a vestry meeting — at which I also 
was present — in the attempt to relieve his beloved rector (for- 
merly his trusted companion in arms) ; and his last conscious act 
was, on that same evening, to attempt to ask a blessing upon the 
evening meal — when God called him, and he sank, unconscious, in 
his chair. Of the following days of anxious sorrow, of the shock 
of his death, and of the grief with which we laid him in his coffin 
and followed him to his grave, I have no heart to speak. There 
he rests, beneath the chapel which he himself built, to the glory of 
God — his tomb fitly crowned with that recumbent statue by 
Valentine, symbol of the Eternal Best. 



36 

Such, most imperfectly sketched, was General Lee, as a college 
president. And surely this part of his life deserves to be remem- 
bered and commemorated by those who hold his memory dear. In 
it he exhibited all those great qualities of character which had 
made his name already so illustrious; while, in addition, he sus- 
tained trials and sorrows without which the highest perfections of 
that character could never have been so signally displayed. This 
life at Washington College, so devoted, so earnest, so laborious, 
so full of far-reaching plans and of wise and successful effort, was 
begun under the weight of a disappointment which might have 
broken any ordinary strength, and was maintained, in the midst 
of private and public misfortune, with a serene patience and a 
mingled firmness and sweetness of temper, which give additional 
brilliancy even to the glory of his former fame. It was his high 
privilege to meet alike the temptations and perils of the highest 
stations before the eyes of the world, and the cares and labors of 
the most responsible duties of private life under the most trying 
circumstances, and to exhibit, in all alike, the qualities of a great 
and consistent character, founded in the noblest endowments, and 
sustained by the loftiest principles of virtue and religion. It is a 
privilege henceforth for the teachers of our country that their 
profession, in its humble yet arduous labors, its great and its petty 
cares, has been illustrated by the devotion of such a man. It is an 
honor for all our colleges that one of them is henceforth identified 
with the memory of his name and of his work. It is a boon for us 
all; an honor to the country, which in its whole length and 
breadth will soon be proud to claim his fame ; an honor to human 
nature itself, that this great character, so often and so severely 
tried, has thus proved itself consistent, serene and grand, alike in 
peace and in war, in the humblest as well as the highest offices. 
The "Lost Cause," indeed ! No cause is wholly lost, to a people 
or to mankind, that produces such men, and leaves such memories, 
as Wade Hampton and Robert E. Lee. 

Young gentlemen of the University: Would you follow Lee? 
No more, on the embattled field, can he lead you, as he led your 
fathers, to glorious victory- ; but in spirit and in eternal fame he 
still lives — the Christian soldier, the self-sacrificing patriot, the 
college president, the South's noblest gentleman — to remind you, 
by example as by precept, that "Duty is the sublimest word in thtj 
language." 




liEXERAL LEE AND TRAVELLER. BV MILEV, 
LEXINGTON. THE SCENE IS ROCK- 

BRIOGE BATHS. VIRCI X lA. 



Vi 



LBJa'IO 



k> 



ti 




013 700 859 2 



I 







